3 Things That Happened When Rita First Attacked
by The Second Batgirl
Summary: “Cool!” Skull yelled. “Voltron is coming to save us!”


1.

Ernie thought that it was an earthquake, at first. That wasn't entirely unusual in Angel Grove, but there was something different about this one. He had been in a lot of earthquakes in his life – after all, he had lived in California for over thirty years now, but this one felt strange. Still, there were procedures that needed to be observed, so he got everyone into the shelter in the basement. A few of the kids were stumbling, but Ernie made sure that everyone got there in the end.

Before Ernie closed the door, he took a mental headcount, comparing the people in the shelter to those who had been in the Youth Center when the quake started. There were still five people missing.

"Has anyone seen Jason and the others?" he asked loudly, most of the teens in the shelter quieting down when they heard him.

"Maybe they ran outside," Angela suggested.

Oddly, it was Bulk who laughed at the suggestion. "Those dweebs?" Bulk asked incredulously. "Like they would go against standard procedures."

"Yeah!" Skull piped up. "Those geeks wouldn't break rules, not like us." He thumped himself on the chest proudly.

They were probably right, Ernie had to admit to himself. He was going to have to go up to the Youth Center and look for them. Something might have happened to them. They could be hurt.

Just as he made his way out of the shelter, the shaking stopped, and he ran for the Youth Center. He didn't see any of the missing teens. He just hoped that they were okay.

~*~

When they still hadn't shown up an hour later, Ernie debated calling the police. The group - Trini especially - was incredibly responsible, but this was an unusual situation. He had just picked up the phone when he heard the familiar notes of a breaking news bulletin. He put down the phone and turned to face the television on the side of his bar. This could have something to do with Jason and the rest of the gang.

"We interrupt this story," Jimmy Jameson was saying, "to bring you a special report. We are aware that the footage we're about to show you may seem incredible, but we assure you this is real. If you are in Angel Grove, we ask you to stay in your homes." Jimmy Jameson, who always sounded so confident, was almost shaking, and Ernie wondered what could have disturbed the intrepid reporter so badly.

The screen flashed to a shot of Angel Grove's downtown, and the Youth Center broke out in a buzz of chatter. There was no way that this was actual footage. It looked like some sort of giant monster was attacking the Harbor District. Actually, it looked like a giant blue monkey wearing golden armor. No other words could describe it.

"We aren't yet aware of what this thing is," Jameson's voice cut in. "But we've just had word that another giant is coming in. This one appears to be… oh my God, is that a giant robot?"

The footage changed again, and Ernie got his first glimpse of the robot.

"Cool!" Skull yelled. "Voltron is coming to save us!"

"No, you dimwit!" Bulk said. "Voltron was lions! That thing is made of dinosaurs!"

"The yellow part looked just like Hunk's lion!" Skull argued back, and the two of them continued to fight about it while the rest of them watched the broadcast.

"The robot seems to be taking a lot of heavy hits," Jameson was saying. "We think the robot might be the good guys. It doesn't seem to be actively trying to destroy the city, unlike the monkey thing."

"I can't believe this," Angela was saying to Veronica. "Do you think this is some sort of elaborate prank?"

"I don't know," Veronica said slowly. "They keep saying it isn't a prank. And that quake was weird."

"The robot just drew a sword," Jameson said, "and it looks like the monster just vanished!"

The Youth Center erupted in cheers until Jameson's voice came on again.

"Wait, wait, something appears to be happening. There appears to be 5 people emerging from the robot. We're trying to get a camera down there. Please give us a moment."

The town square came into focus, and another reporter, Jessica Lane, came running up to 5 people in brightly colored uniforms.

"Who are you?" she asked them.

The one in red took a step forward. "We're the Power Rangers," he told her. "We're here to protect Angel Grove."

2.

"Wow," Rocky said as they finally moved away from the television. "Can you believe it? Real superheroes!" He grinned at Adam. "Kinda like when we were kids and we used to pin towels to our shirts and run around, right?"

"You still do that, Rocky," Aisha said, rolling her eyes. "Can you imagine what it would be like to live in Angel Grove right now?"

"It would probably be more exciting then here," Rocky said.

Adam shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Did you see that building collapse? There were probably a lot of people hurt."

"But super heroes!" Rocky said joyfully. Aisha smacked him on the shoulder.

"Be serious for once," she told him. "It's one thing for us to watch from a distance, and something different to actually be there."

"They're all probably going to have a great essay for college applications," Adam pointed out. "How I survived my first monster attack."

Rocky threw a pillow at him. "Don't even mention those!" he told him sharply. "Mom is already getting on my case about it, and we're only sophomores."

"It's going to be hard in Angel Grove from now on," Aisha said suddenly. "I mean, if the monsters keep on attacking them. A lot of people are probably going to move."

"Maybe we'll have a chance of beating them in football, then," Rocky suggested.

"Do you ever think of anything else?"

"Food," Rocky answered. "I'm hungry."

"You aren't taking this at all seriously," Adam said in surprise.

Rocky smiled. "Adam, I just found out we live in a world where there are superheroes. I've been reading comics for years. Today is like… I just found out that Santa Claus really is real." His grin widened. "I just can't wait to see what happens next."

Adam and Aisha exchanged significant glances. The thing was, Rocky was right. They wanted to know what would happen next too.

3.

Justin's dad was out of town on a business trip that day, so his mother had promised to take him for a special lunch in Little Japan. It wasn't that unusual for his father to be gone, really, but it had been bothering Justin more and more, which was probably why his mother had offered to let him skip school that day.

It was a good lunch, too. Little Japan always had really good sushi. His father didn't really like sushi, but his mother had introduced him to it, so it was something special for both of them to share.

They had just finished their lunch when the earthquake hit.

"Outside, Justin," his mother ordered, following the other people out the door. "And hurry!" She had grabbed him so quickly that he saw that she had left her purse behind.

"I can walk myself!" he told her hotly, all of his nine-year-old arrogance coming into play.

"Please just stay with me," she said. This section of the city wasn't really quake proofed. Even after the shaking stopped (and it had only lasted for a minute) they still didn't go back in. Instead, they sat on a bench. Justin was really fidgety, he didn't want to stay, but his mother was deep in conversation with some of the other people around him. They all seemed to think it wasn't a normal earthquake for some reason. Just didn't really see what was so special about it. They'd had other ones before.

Finally, the building was declared safe. "I need to go get my purse," Justin's mom told him. "Come on."

"I don't want to," Justin said stubbornly. "Can I stay here?"

She sighed. "Fine, but stay right here. Don't go wandering off."

"Yes mom," Justin said. "I'll be careful, and the building is just across the street."

He watched as his mom entered the building when the street began to shake again, and a long shadow fell across them all. Some sort of giant was there, holding a big sword.

"Mom!" Justin yelled. "Run!"

It was too late though, as the monster brought his sword down on the building, and all Justin could do was scream.

4.

"We're the Power Rangers," the Red one said confidently, and Jason turned away from the television in shame.

That could have been him out there. None of his friends would meet his gaze. He didn't want to look at any of them anyway. He should never have listened to them. He should have stayed, should have convinced them to stay.

They could have been the Power Rangers, they could have been heroes. Instead, they were going to have to live the rest of their lives wondering what could have been.


End file.
